He had the intestinal fortitude to call the Congressional Progressive Caucus Communists...

...The cries from the Democrats can be heard far and wide – calling West irresponsible for calling patriots Communists. Just one small problem – the Congressional Progressive Caucus was founded in 1991 by Bernie Sanders, who is an avowed Socialist and a Congressman from Vermont; Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the radical Washington DC based “think tank,” Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

...Except all of [the media's] video clips are very carefully edited to cut out the next thing West said. Here is the quote in full, with the omitted part presented in boldface:

It’s a good question. I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Which is completely accurate.

It doesn't take much work to prove West right:

• According to The Weekly Worker (the Communist Party newsletter of Britain), "...The [Congressional Progressive Caucus] CPC is ‘organised around the principles of social and economic justice’, a ‘non-discriminatory society’ and ‘national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful’.” ... the CPC platform is “strongly supported by the Communist Party of the United States of America... The CPUSA has served in effect as a loyal tendency inside the Democratic Party for over half a century."

According to Karl Marx, the following ten elements were requisite conditions for "a transition from capitalism to communism."

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. Washington Examiner: The great Obama land grab: "White House officials have been meeting quietly with environmental groups to map out government plans for acquiring untold millions of acres of both public and private land... The federal government, as the memo boasted, is the nation's 'largest land manager.' It already owns roughly one of every three acres in the United States... This is apparently not enough."

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. National Taxpayer Union: The top 1% of taxpayers already pay 40% of all income taxes. The top 5% pay 61% of all income taxes. And the top 25% pay 87%. The bottom 50% pay 3% of all income taxes.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants [those leaving the country] and rebels. New York Post: The President's new jobs-killer: "...President Obama explicitly targeted the industry for two massive tax hikes. First, he'd ban oil and gas companies from using the 'Section 199' tax credit, a measure for domestic manufacturers enacted in 2004 to boost US employment... Second, he wants to end 'dual capacity' protection for US energy firms... Without this shield against double taxation on foreign revenues, American companies would be competing on an uneven global playing field... Yet, by the federal government's own economic model, these tax hikes would lead to huge, immediate job losses."

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.Heritage: "The Clean Water Restoration Act Means Troubled Waters For Property Owners": "...The Waxman-Markey global warming bill is far and away the most worrisome environmental measure currently working its way through Congress, but it is certainly not the only cause for concern... S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA)... would do much more harm than good, especially for farmers, ranchers, developers, energy producers, and other property owners."

In short, the CPC represents a radical Marxist vision for America. It represents Communism. The CPC is antithetical to the United States Constitution, the very document that these Leftists took an oath to uphold! Put simply, they lied under oath.

I encourage you to read the mission statement of the CPC, which represents a laundry list of Utopian dreams that can only be compelled by a massive, centralized, authoritarian federal government. And, that, of course, was something this country's founders feared.

Progressivism is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. I sincerely hope that, in the not too distant future, any self-admitted "progressive" will be ineligible to hold public office. Because you can't be a progressive and honestly take an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Hey, Mataconis: I'll be looking forward to your next post, which should be a well-written apology to Lt. Col. West.

Actually, it's even worse than your excellent post suggests. According to Aaron Klein in his recent book "Red Army," the Democratic Socialists of America was originally an offshoot of... the Communist International. In other words, the roughly 80 legislators to whom Rep. Allen West referred are protege's of the DSA, which was birthed by the Communist International. And of course the Communist International has the blood of millions on its hands. Rep. West is correct to call out these people as the evil seditionists they are. At best, they've violated their oaths of office; at worst, they should be put on trial for treason.